Did you catch the news last week that life expectancy in America actually declined last year? Is anyone really surprised? Can we be doing anything more to take better care of ourselves? YES!!!
What I find interesting is that none of the news reports on U.S. statistics mentioned anything about how our country ranked in the world. Could it be because we score so poorly? Did you know we rank BELOW Cypress, New Zealand and Costa Rica? I won't even mention the European countries.
If you want to live a long and healthy life then it's up to YOU. You need to take responsibility for your own health and do whatever you need to do to be healthy!
Have a safe and happy 2017!
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Christmas Gift
Give the gift of a healthy 2017 with a FREE copy of my novella, SUSAN'S SEARCH!
Available FREE on Amazon December 1 - 5, 2016.
Check out SUSAN'S SEARCH on Amazon.
(It's also just a fun little book.)
Available FREE on Amazon December 1 - 5, 2016.
Check out SUSAN'S SEARCH on Amazon.
(It's also just a fun little book.)
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Olympic Attention
Seems like almost every news program has had a story about the purple, circular bruises on many of our swimmers, especially gold-record holder Michael Phelps. Suddenly the ancient art of "cupping" is big news! It's only been around for about 2,000 years and is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine but it's news in America. After all, if a gold medal winner uses it, then it must be good!
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Medicine and Capitalism
Just ran across a great editorial by a doctor in the L.A. Times titled "There's No Place for Rampant Capitalism in Treating the Sick" that everyone should read. You know our system in America is pretty messed up when even the doctors start saying it isn't working. Medicine isn't about saving lives anymore, it's about making money. And we all have to pay the bill.
I've ranted before that medical care in America should be taken over by government, the same government that runs our military, our fire and police departments, and other services that maintain the quality of our lives. Would it be perfect? No, there isn't a perfect health care system on the planet, but we might be able to finally make it more affordable.
I've ranted before that medical care in America should be taken over by government, the same government that runs our military, our fire and police departments, and other services that maintain the quality of our lives. Would it be perfect? No, there isn't a perfect health care system on the planet, but we might be able to finally make it more affordable.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Mark Your Calendar!
Susan's Search will be available for FREE from May 27th to May 31st! Check it out on Amazon!
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Doctors Are #3 Cause of Death
I know it's hard to believe but a new study in BMJ researching studies published since 1999 calculates that if medical errors were considered a disease it would be the third leading cause of death in the United States. Yes, that's right, #3. Doctors are only behind heart disease and cancer as the cause of death in our country.
In the new study medical error is defined as anything that causes a preventable death. That means that an estimated 251,454 people die in the U.S. as a result of their doctors. Think about that number!
Yet to hear doctors talk they all can walk on water and NEVER make mistakes. They say all of those complementary and alternative therapies that have been around for hundreds, even thousands of years, are pure junk. Except that they do work or they wouldn't have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. "Modern" medicine is just over one hundred years old and when it started the doctors were prescribing mercury. Think about that the next time you get a prescription.
In the new study medical error is defined as anything that causes a preventable death. That means that an estimated 251,454 people die in the U.S. as a result of their doctors. Think about that number!
Yet to hear doctors talk they all can walk on water and NEVER make mistakes. They say all of those complementary and alternative therapies that have been around for hundreds, even thousands of years, are pure junk. Except that they do work or they wouldn't have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. "Modern" medicine is just over one hundred years old and when it started the doctors were prescribing mercury. Think about that the next time you get a prescription.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Medicine Metabolism
There was a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday (Tuesday, March 15th) entitled Your Medicine Metabolism. Did you know that individual reactions to a common drug like codeine can range from life-threatening to completely ineffective? Codeine is prescribed for pain but individual genetic make-up can cause a wide range of reactions. About 2% of the population metabolizes the drug so quickly that a standard dose can become life-threatening. Meanwhile about 20% of people notice very little effect from the drug.
Our unique genetic composition means that drugs react differently in each of us. While there are new tests being developed to map our genes so doctors can determine which drugs will work and which ones will cause problems, they're very expensive today. Unfortunately most folks discover they have a problem the hard way, with a bad reaction. Doctors are slowing waking up to the fact that even "common" drugs can have issues.
While I dislike drugs as a matter of principle I recognize that there are times and circumstances when they can be very beneficial. That being said, be careful when using them. Ask questions, don't just accept that your doctor can walk on water and never makes a mistake. There's an old saying that doctors bury their mistakes. Be careful.
Our unique genetic composition means that drugs react differently in each of us. While there are new tests being developed to map our genes so doctors can determine which drugs will work and which ones will cause problems, they're very expensive today. Unfortunately most folks discover they have a problem the hard way, with a bad reaction. Doctors are slowing waking up to the fact that even "common" drugs can have issues.
While I dislike drugs as a matter of principle I recognize that there are times and circumstances when they can be very beneficial. That being said, be careful when using them. Ask questions, don't just accept that your doctor can walk on water and never makes a mistake. There's an old saying that doctors bury their mistakes. Be careful.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Free Novella
March 1st and 2nd you can download my novella, "Susan's Search", for FREE to your Kindle!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
WSJ Review of "Cure"
"But 'Cure' points a way toward a future in which the two camps might work together. After all, any medicine that makes a patient better, whether conventional, alternative, or placebo, is simply medicine." Such is the conclusion of Dr. Ross's review in today's Wall Street Journal of Jo Marchant's new book titled simply "Cure." We can only wish at this time that all medical professionals had such open minds.
The book is apparently filled with lots of anecdotes about people who've recovered from injury or other health problems simply from the use of a placebo. I've used a story in my speeches for years about a knee replacement study done at Baylor Hospital in Houston where folks who didn't have their knees replaced scored the same as those who did, simply from the placebo effect.
The drug industry knows all about the placebo effect and they hate it. It ruins all of their research and studies by showing how folks really don't need the latest and greatest drugs after all. So they campaign aggressively and effectively against it with the FDA and anybody else who will listen. And the medical community steps right in line for them.
The human body has unknown and unlimited abilities to heal itself. Conventional medicine wants to maintain its exclusive control of health care in America. Alternative health care recognizes the potential of every person to heal themselves. Maybe one of these days the two opposites will shrink the distance between their extremes. Apparently there is reason for hope.
The book is apparently filled with lots of anecdotes about people who've recovered from injury or other health problems simply from the use of a placebo. I've used a story in my speeches for years about a knee replacement study done at Baylor Hospital in Houston where folks who didn't have their knees replaced scored the same as those who did, simply from the placebo effect.
The drug industry knows all about the placebo effect and they hate it. It ruins all of their research and studies by showing how folks really don't need the latest and greatest drugs after all. So they campaign aggressively and effectively against it with the FDA and anybody else who will listen. And the medical community steps right in line for them.
The human body has unknown and unlimited abilities to heal itself. Conventional medicine wants to maintain its exclusive control of health care in America. Alternative health care recognizes the potential of every person to heal themselves. Maybe one of these days the two opposites will shrink the distance between their extremes. Apparently there is reason for hope.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Medical Malpractice
Did you know that just 1% of all doctors were responsible for 32% of all medical malpractice claims during the past decade? According to the New England Journal of Medicine recently those are the numbers yet very little is being done to hold those responsible accountable. Why? Maybe because the national database called the National Practitioner Data Bank doesn't list doctors by name to protect their privacy, they're assigned a number. It seems that Colorado is one of the very few states where medical malpractice is a matter of public record.
Why doesn't the medical profession take the responsibility to revoke the licenses of bad doctors? Don't they realize that by protecting the 1% that are bad they're casting a shadow on the 99% of doctors who do a good job? Letting a bad doctor simply move from one state to another and start practicing again harms patients.
It's time for voters to start demanding that their elected officials begin making state licensing boards become more vigilant in protecting voters, not the doctors that send them money.
If you want to learn more I understand that Dr. Lawrence B. Schlachter has a new book coming out soon called "Malpractice: A Board-Certified Neurosurgeon Reveals How The American Health Care System Fails To Protect Patient Safety and Investigate Negligence."
Why doesn't the medical profession take the responsibility to revoke the licenses of bad doctors? Don't they realize that by protecting the 1% that are bad they're casting a shadow on the 99% of doctors who do a good job? Letting a bad doctor simply move from one state to another and start practicing again harms patients.
It's time for voters to start demanding that their elected officials begin making state licensing boards become more vigilant in protecting voters, not the doctors that send them money.
If you want to learn more I understand that Dr. Lawrence B. Schlachter has a new book coming out soon called "Malpractice: A Board-Certified Neurosurgeon Reveals How The American Health Care System Fails To Protect Patient Safety and Investigate Negligence."
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Free Novella
My new novella, Susan's Search, will be available for Kindle again FREE on January 31st and February 1st! Don't miss this opportunity for a great read. While Susan is searching for answers to her medical problem her family is anxiously searching for her. But it all works out well in the end.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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